May 13, 2022 5 min read

Bill Cowher had to wait a year for his induction ceremony to the Pro Football Hall of Fame because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the recently turned 65-year-old hasn’t waited as long as his mentor, Marty Schottenheimer.

Schottenheimer, who died in February of 2021, is still waiting.

And that’s a shame.

There are few head coaches in NFL history who are more deserving of being in the Hall of Fame than Schottenheimer.

The Fort Cherry High School graduate ranks seventh in NFL history in regular-season wins with 200. He turned around franchises in both Cleveland and Kansas City and had only two losing seasons in his 21 NFL seasons, during which he also coached the Chargers and in Washington.

But all anyone ever wants to mention with Schottenheimer is his team’s 6-13 record in playoff games.

“Everyone looks at his playoff record. I get it,” Cowher told me recently. “But it’s like judging quarterbacks by Super Bowl wins. C’mon. Dan Marino is one of the greatest ever. But there’s so many different elements of it. What he did consistently over a period of time. His coaching tree is unbelievable. What his contribution was to the game on the competition committee at a very significant time when the rules were changing very dramatically. He’s an icon in the NFL world.

“The guy had over 200 wins. Are you kidding me? Everywhere he’s been, he turned things around and players loved playing for him. He totally changed cultures everywhere he went.”

To Cowher’s point, if winning a Super Bowl is the ticket to Canton, Ohio, that’s fine. But there are a number of great players – and even some coaches – who didn’t have much postseason success. Bud Grant comes to mind. So does Marv Levy.

Both were very good coaches who lost multiple Super Bowls. They got to the big game, but they couldn’t close the deal. And Grant’s teams made the Super Bowl when it only took a couple of wins to reach the NFL’s championship game.

His career record in the playoffs was 10-12.

That’s not to discount what Grant did in his career. But neither should Schottenheimer’s record in the postseason be held against him.

And, as Cowher mentioned, Schottenheimer’s coaching tree not only includes Cowher, but Tony Dungy, Mike McCarthy and Bruce Arians directly, and others such as Mike Tomlin and Lovie Smith indirectly.

That’s why when Cowher gave his Hall of Fame speech last August, he wanted Schottenheimer’s wife, Pat, and their children, Brian and Kristen, at the ceremony.

“That’s why I pleaded with Patty to come. I wanted Patty to hear the words, feel the words. Patty and Kristen came,” Cowher said. “I’ve talked to Brian since. That was really important for me for her to be there at that ceremony in Canton. Hopefully, she can be there again for all the right reasons the next time.”

Here’s hoping. The Hall of Fame is making it easier to induct a coach each year. That’s a start. But Schottenheimer should be at the top of that list.

Prior to Schottenheimer being named head coach in Cleveland, the Browns were, well, the Browns. From 1972 through 1984, the year that Schottenheimer took over as coach from Sam Rutigliano, the Browns won one division title.

They won three in a row under his direction.

When Schottenheimer was hired by the Chiefs in 1989, Kansas City had one playoff appearance in 17 years. Schottenheimer had the Chiefs in the playoffs in seven of his 10 seasons with the franchise, re-energizing the city.

“He took over in Cleveland, and I know that Sam Rutigliano had a couple of good years there, but what he did in his first five years there, C’mon. We made it (to the AFC Championship) in ’86 and ’87. In ’89 he made it and was on his fourth quarterback,” Cowher said. “And he did the same thing in Kansas City. Everywhere Marty went, he won.”

It would only be fitting that he be honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• We now not only know the Steelers’ opponents for the 2022 season, but in what order those games will fall.

The Steelers travel the fewest miles in the NFL this season. Travel won’t be a major issue. But the league didn’t do the Steelers any favors when it came to the opening month.

The Steelers play the Bengals, Patriots and Browns in an 11-day stretch to open the season.

That’s brutal.

• Why the Pirates would have released Colin Moran to keep Yoshi Tsutsugo at first base is beyond me. Not that Moran is a great player, but he hits for some power and is a major-league hitter.

With his slow start this season. Tsutsugo holds a career batting average lower than .210 in nearly 500 career at-bats. And it’s not like he’s a whiz with the glove at first base.